hearken

verb

heark·​en ˈhär-kən 

variants or harken

hearkened or harkened; hearkening ˈhär-kə-niŋ 

ˈhärk-niŋ

or harkening

intransitive verb

1

: listen

hearkened without much mental comment

—Theodore Dreiser

2

: to give respectful attention

the humble folk who hearkened to these evangelists

—G. M. Stephenson

3

: to bring to mind something in the past : hearken back

Portrayals of dinosaurs with lizard-like tongues hearken to early interpretations of the beasts as oversized lizards.

—Mindy Weisberger

transitive verb

archaic : to give heed to : hear

Synonyms

• listen
• hear

Examples of hearken in a Sentence

hearken! I hear the distant beat of the hooves of many horses

Recent Examples on the Web

An iron horse hearkens to the railroad, and what the railroad brought to the West, which was expansion, and thereby Native people were somewhat driven back by the expansion of the railroad in the West. —Lisa De Los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 27 Apr. 2025

Masterpiece Theater Matthew Fraser November 30, 2022 Climate activist attacks on works by van Gogh, Vermeer, and other art world titans are the latest in a tradition of destruction that hearkens to the early Christian zealots. —The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 22 Apr. 2025

The spirit of transgression that runs throughout Amis’s work seemed continually to hearken to that which lay outside English literature’s parameters. —Rachel Cusk, Harper's Magazine, 19 Feb. 2025

When asked why that is, Danson hearkens it back to his days on Cheers. —Lauren Huff, EW.com, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English herknen, from Old English heorcnian; akin to Old High German hōrechen to listen, Old English hīeran to hear

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Phrases Containing hearken

• hearken back

Rhymes for hearken

• darken
• harken
• markan
• parkin

Kids Definition

hearken

verb

hear·​ken

ˈhär-kən

hearkened; hearkening

ˈhärk-(ə-)niŋ

: listen sense 1, attend